Build It Awards Judges

The Build It Awards Judges are listed below. All our entries will be judged by a panel of industry experts, chaired by the editor of Build It magazine, Chris Bates.­­

Certain categories are up for reader votes, in which the judges scores are added to those of the public. These categories are Best Self Build or Renovation Project, Best Self Build Lender, Best Architect/ Designer for a Self Build Project and Best Architect/Designer for a Renovation or Extension Project.

Chris Bates

Chris is Build It’s editor, and the chairperson of the awards. He has dedicated the last 7 years to writing about self build and is a champion for pushing the boundaries of self build in the UK. Chris is also a trained site-carpenter and hence deeply understands the practical and technical challenges faced by Build It’s readers on-site.

Raymond Connor

Raymond is MD of BuildStore and has recently completed the redevelopment of his own house which is in a Scottish Regional Park. He is a mortgage and finance specialist and has a keen interest in the UK’s growing custom build market.

Tim Doherty

Tim was the founding MD of the National Self Build & Renovation Centre and is currently the acting CEO of the National Custom & Self Build Association (NaCSBA). He built his own family home in 1998 and has spent 30 years helping others to do the same. He is a professional surveyor and Chartered Builder and runs Dobanti Chartered Surveyors – www.dobanti.com.

Mike Hardwick

After completing his own project in North Wiltshire, Mike joined the NSBRC as their technical advisor before setting up as an independent self-build consultant. Mike is now a prominent figure in the industry and the Self Build Director of the National Custom & Self Build Association (NaCSBA).

Julian Owen

Julian is a specialist self build architect. He is the author of many books, covering topics such as extensions, timber frame homes and loft conversions. He also runs his own practice, Julian Owen Associates.

Nigel Griffiths

Nigel is one of Build It’s experts, the Director of the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance and also a consultant working mainly on energy efficiency policy and evaluation. He is the author of the Haynes Eco House Manual, specialising in sustainable building.

Calum Taylor

Calum is Build It’s publisher. He is a self build and renovation enthusiast, and has completed five homes in the last 18 years. He has been working in the media serving the self build market for over a decade.